I Have a Dream

March 2, 2013

Montgomery, Alabama is one of the main places of the Civil Rights Movement of the l960's

This is Dexter church from which Martin Luther King, Jr. led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.
I was fortunate to be allowed inside between tours and shown around by volunteers who attend church there.

Martin Luther King, born 1929 in Atlanta, GA and was killed 1968 in Memphis Tennessee. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience.

I parked at the Visitors Center down by the river, rode the trolley up to the Capitol, then walked back using this map to see the sites.

Riding the trolley downtown Montgomery.

The view is from the front steps of the Capitol of Georgia. Dexter Baptist Church is the red building on the left.

Bloody Sunday refers to March 7, 1965 when the Atlanta State Troopers beat up the Civil Rights workers attempting to march to Montgomery from nearby Selma, AL. Footage of police brutality against the protesters was broadcast extensively and aroused national public outrage.

King led 6,000 marchers out of Selma on March 25, 1965 with Federal protection. After 4 days, over 20,000 marchers walked up this street to the Capitol where Governor Wallace hid out inside while MLK gave a speech stating that equal rights for African Americans could not be far away, "because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

This marks the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus igniting the Civil Rights Movement.

Inside the Dexter Church I heard excerpts from King's famous speeches.

Near the Dexter Church is the Southern Poverty Law Center and this Civil Rights Memorial that honors the achievements and memory of those who died during the Civil Rights Movement, a period framed by the Brown v. Board decision in 1954 and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. The memorial serves as education and reflection about the struggle for equality.

The Memorial was created by Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer Maya Lin.

These markers are along the highway between Montgomery and Selma. Also there are signs to show where all the marchers camped along the way.

In 1996 the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail was created by Congress.